


I love you, I love you, I love you

by light_daydream



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Admirer, Secret Crush, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29290647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/light_daydream/pseuds/light_daydream
Summary: Hyunjin ’s (messy) guide to getting a boyfriend in just three days (or less). Told from Seungmin’s POV.(AKA: A secret admirer AU taking place around Valentine's Day.)
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, side - Changbin/Felix, side - Minho/Jisung
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19
Collections: SKZ Seasons of Love





	I love you, I love you, I love you

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SKZ_Seasons_of_Love](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SKZ_Seasons_of_Love) collection. 



On the night before Valentine’s Day dawns, they all gather at Hyunjin and Jisung’s dorm room to honor a tradition that traces its roots back to pure, distilled pettiness. It’s on the afternoon before such a night that Seungmin enters their dorm with his spare key, struggling to get a better hold on his shopping bags before they slip off his fingers, and finds the two roommates in the middle of a heated conversation.

It’s not an unusual sight to encounter the two bickering, but this specific conversation is hushed and kept between bowed heads even though they were all alone in the room before Seungmin returned from the corner shop. When he left to go buy some snacks, Hyunjin and Jisung were slouched on opposite sides of the couch, each absorbed on their phone. Seungmin is amused at the scene change, and even more so when the only acknowledgment he gets is a quick glance from Hyunjin that lasts mere moments before his attention is back on Jisung.

Seungmin walks over to the dorm’s kitchenette, leaves his bags on top of the counter, and is in the process of sorting through his purchases when Hyunjin’s loud exclamation startles him.

“Ya! Don’t even think about it.”

No more hints are given as to the subject and Seungmin is left staring between the two boys on the couch perplexed. Jisung whispers something more behind his palm, complete with animated head movements and wide eyes. Whatever it is, it leaves Hyunjin no choice but to let out a shriek. In the span of the few seconds that follow, he has Jisung’s body trapped under his own weight and a pillow shoved in the younger’s face, then he’s scampering away while Jisung tries to find his bearings.

By the time Jisung is sitting up and throwing the pillow dejectedly back onto the couch, Hyunjin has found refuge behind Seungmin’s back and is cackling loudly. The ice cream in Seungmin’s hand is momentarily forgotten in favor of lightly elbowing Hyunjin in the ribs to gain his attention. The cackles immediately deflate down to giggles, yet his eyes remain full of mirth at Jisung’s defeat as they meet Seungmin’s.

“Hey, baby”, Hyunjin says sweetly, the petname still managing to make Seungmin’s heart stutter a beat even after all the time he’s been subjected to it. Hyunjin lets his head rest on top of Seungmin’s shoulder as he back-hugs him, reminding Seungmin of a puppy awaiting a treat or a scratch behind the ears.

Not for the first time, he wants to push his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair and watch the other grow laxer from the caress. Seungmin pushes down the familiar desire before it has the chance to grow. “What’s going on?”, he asks instead, focusing back on sorting through the groceries. He keeps his movements slow and gentle to accommodate Hyunjin, even though the blond’s jaw is starting to press down against Seungmin’s collarbone a bit painfully.

“Nothing.”

Seungmin snorts at the brief response. “Didn’t look like nothing”, he says at the same time that Jisung yells, incredulity potent in his voice, “Nothing?!”

Jisung’s head is hanging over the arm of the couch, stretching his neck to look at them properly.

“Honestly, I don’t know why I even bother. You’re beyond saving.”

Hyunjin gasps dramatically at that, mouth too close to Seungmin’s ear that it makes him flinch away.

“I didn’t ask for help. I just wanted to vent a bit.”

“It sure sounded like you _begged_ for my help just before”, Jisung says, the volume of his voice slowly rising again, and Seungmin internally cringes.

Hyunjin remains silent, although his fists tighten around the fabric of Seungmin’s shirt to the point where Seungmin feels himself being pulled back onto Hyunjin’s chest.

A few moments pass fruitlessly, Hyunjin’s heavy breath the only thing Seungmin can hear. He’s not sure if he should try and mediate the situation. He’s not sure whether or not he’s glad Jisung is opening his mouth to speak again, either. It all plays out as if in slow motion. Deep down, he knows they need to figure things out for themselves, and he’s confident they’ll manage. If they’re good at something, it’s this; despite arguing all the time, they still make sure to end each day well, no simmering grudges or half-finished arguments.

“But you need to do something about it, Jinnie.” Jisung’s gaze is sincere and open, willing Hyunjin to hear him out and agree. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Hyunjin borrows deeper against Seungmin’s neck and Seungmin knows he’s pouting like a baby even though he can’t see him.

“Oh! I know what!” Jisung’s tone turns right on its head. He hops off the couch and points a victorious hand at the ceiling. Hyunjin lazily tilts his head upwards, Seungmin following the movement shortly after. Jisung’s smile stays unmoving, unlike his eyebrows that start wiggling as if asking them to guess what’s on his mind.

“What about Soobin?” Seungmin asks eventually, just to tease. “He’s a good kid so you better leave him out of whatever you have in mind.”

“I’ll ignore that last comment”, Jisung sniffs, then poses with a finger tapping at his chin. “For some reason, though, it makes complete sense that you’d be one of those people who know all their neighbors by name. You keep amazing me, Kim Seungmin.” His voice is full of faux admiration and Seungmin would pinch him if he was standing any closer. Behind him, Hyunjin muffles a laugh against his shoulder. He knows it’s all in good fun but Seungmin shoves him away all the same.

“It’s called having basic manners, not that you’d know anything about it”, he huffs, finally placing the tub of ice cream in the freezer and turning around to look at his two friends. “Plus, I only really know Soobin.”

“That’s not true”, Hyunjin slurs around a mouth-full of tangerine, yet doesn’t elaborate. Seungmin isn’t sure how he missed him taking the fruit out of the bag still lying in front of them on the counter, but suddenly its refreshing scent is all he can smell; the sight of Hyunjin munching, cheeks puffy and tongue slipping out occasionally to lick up any fleeing juices, all he can see.

His trance is interrupted by Hyunjin bringing the second half of the tangerine up to his mouth, lips opening around it as if in slow motion – or maybe that’s an added effect of Seungmin’s brain slowly frying, he can’t be sure at this point. His gaze involuntarily snaps away and it’s with a chilling kind of horror that he finds Hyunjin’s eyes fixed on him.

Seungmin feels frozen in place while, at the same time, the tell-tale warmth of a blush crawling up to his ears and down to his neck is hard to ignore. There’s a sort of intensity in Hyunjin’s gaze that makes Seungmin feel extremely small and fragile under it.

Jisung clears his throat. “Anyway”, he says. “Since you guys aren’t gonna ask me, I’ll just tell you…”

Seungmin only registers half of those words, his mind still a little foggy. He’s pondering whether he seriously just had an out of body experience when he’s harshly drawn back to reality by Jisung’s following words.

“You should totally confess, Jinnie”, he announces, satisfied grin firmly applied.

Seungmin’s stomach twists before it sinks all the way down to his feet. In the back of his mind, he’s built up and stored numerous variations of this conversation, aware that sooner or later it’d come up, yet he finds himself completely unprepared when it finally does.

Hyunjin scoffs. “Not gonna happen.”

“Why not? You’re so sure it’s gonna go wrong that you don’t even take the time to imagine- uh-“

He’s cut off by a ping on his phone and he reaches into his pocket to retrieve it, the distraction sparing Seungmin a moment of reprieve from the constant reminder of Hyunjin apparently being in love with somebody. Why is Jisung so hell-bent on making Hyunjin confess anyway? Seungmin chances a side glance towards Hyunjin and he expects to find him looking annoyed, but Hyunjin merely looks resigned and it breaks Seungmin’s heart.

“Minho hyung is gonna be here soon”, Jisung says absently after a while. He taps something on the screen of his phone and then pockets the device once again, leveling Hyunjin with a look.

“As I was saying, just imagine: what if it goes _right_?”

Hyunjin would get in a relationship, that’s how it goes in that case. Seungmin scratches at his itchy throat, absently noting the numbness that has started to settle in.

“The chances are close to none, if not that. I would never risk losing a friend for such odds.”

That revelation somehow makes everything worse. Hyunjin’s friends are Seungmin’s friends, and vice versa. Unless… Maybe it’s somebody from Hyunjin’s dance group? Seungmin tries to recall anyone that Hyunjin has previously mentioned in more than a fleeting type of way, yet he can only come up with Minho and, yeah, that’s ridiculous in more than one ways. Seungmin mentally slaps himself.

“You wouldn’t know until you tried”, Jisung sounds fed up, his tone rising.

“Don’t go around giving advice”, Hyunjin hisses back. “As if you acted on your feelings with Minho hyung.”

Seungmin recognizes a low blow when he comes across one, even in his current miserable condition. He hasn’t seen Hyunjin lose his temper like this in ages, and Jisung must be thinking the same because his face hardens momentarily but he doesn’t strike back. Instead, his tone is softer when he speaks up again, “Jinnie knows, more than anyone else, that I’d still be single if Minho hyung hadn’t asked me out.” He can barely hold back a grin when the blond visibly cringes at his attempt at being cute. Hyunjin quickly recovers.

“Jinnie also knows you’d still be a virgin with an insatiable libido”, he smirks, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculously lascivious manner and they erupt into fits of giggles at the same time.

Just like that the tension between them dissipates and Seungmin will forever be in awe of their unique dynamic.

As their laughter is dying down, a loud knock sounds at the door and Jisung doesn’t miss a beat before he’s dashing towards it, as if Seungmin or Hyunjin had any intention of beating him to it to begin with.

Minho, in true Minho fashion, skips the niceties. “I’ve been knocking for like a minute now”, he says. “What were you yelling about anyway?” His eyebrows are furrowed with annoyance. Seungmin knows it’s more of a front than anything, and he’s proved correct when Minho puckers his lips at Jisung in a kiss that his boyfriend easily accepts. They struggle about for a moment, both trying to ease Minho’s jacket off but also reluctant to break apart.

Seungmin looks away to allow them some privacy, although the couple doesn’t look particularly interested in acquiring such a thing. It’s completely accidental that he meets Hyunjin’s eyes then, the blond also trying to look anywhere but at the exchange of affection right in front of them.

The intensity in Hyunjin’s gaze is back. Seungmin holds the eye contact, a million questions zooming through his mind. If he’s honest, the fact that Hyunjin didn’t think he could trust Seungmin with his secret hurts just as much as the apparent existence of his crush. Seungmin wants to know everything: why, who, when… But he can’t make himself utter those questions. He opts to let his eyes wander around the place, hopping from one random spot to another.

“Not yelling”, Jisung replies curtly, once he’s satisfied with the kisses he got. “Just discussing Hyunjin’s love life like the adults we are.”

Minho hums and nods in understanding. Seungmin momentarily wonders whether he’s the only one who wasn’t aware of Hyunjin’s crush until now. Was he supposed to know? As much as his heart burned, perhaps he should apologize…

“Obviously the only solution is for you to confess to them”, Jisung says, matter-of-factly. Then he turns back to Hyunjin and Seungmin reluctantly follows his lead.

“ _Obviously_ ”, Hyunjin parrots mockingly, rolling his eyes at their friend. “You think I haven’t thought of that?”

“Have you?” Minho asks from behind Jisung. They’ve gotten comfortable on the floor, right across from Seungmin and Hyunjin, and Minho has his legs wrapped around Jisung’s waist, holding the younger close enough to cuddle him. “Then why haven’t you done it yet?”

Hyunjin doesn’t seem to appreciate his tone and Seungmin would laugh at his sour expression if his heart wasn’t currently occupying his throat. “It’s complicated”, is all he says.

Jisung snorts. “Complicated my ass. I’m literally going to lock you out and not let you back in unless you agree to finally confess to them.” His threat loses some steam when somebody knocks on the door again and he gets startled from the unexpected sound, his hands rolling into fists and his shoulders rising up cutely.

Seungmin jumps at the chance to escape the tense atmosphere in the living room and nearly runs to open the door where Chan and Felix greet him with twin grins.

“Food is here!”, Felix sing-songs, dancing to an imaginary groove as he waves the boxes left and right in the air, a bag of additional take-out boxes dangling from one hand. His usually contagious excitement is ineffective this time since Seungmin is busy keeping a wary eye on the food containers. Chan hinders his plan of steadying Felix’s load on the last moment, though, as he side-steps Seungmin to get further into the living room. Felix doesn’t waste any time and zooms past Seungmin, as well, walking into the living room and setting the food on the table.

The room erupts in activity the moment the food gets displayed on top of the wooden surface and Seungmin can’t blame them; he can feel his own stomach growling just at the smell of the greasy food wafting through the room. He’s closing the door, more than ready to join his friends, when something slams against it.

Seungmin doesn’t have the chance to realize what happened when he’s suddenly being pushed aside along with the door, Changbin’s voice reaching him before he even sees the older boy.

“Hey, puppy! The baby is coming right behind me so be careful not to shut the door on his face like you almost did to me.”

A panting Jeongin appears in front of him as if on cue and Seungmin takes pity on the youngest, picking up the three packages of cinnamon rolls Jeongin is precariously balancing on his arms to help him out.

“Oh, nice, I hope you got the extra creamy ones”, Hyunjin suddenly pipes up from behind his back, and honestly, he has to stop doing that, otherwise Seungmin is going to have a heart attack for real.

“I got whatever was left, hyung”, Jeongin replies apologetically. “You kinda told me last minute.”

Seungmin snorts and ushers Jeongin inside, letting Hyunjin close the door behind them.

“Must have been a shitty day at the bakery then if they had three boxes worth of leftovers”, Hyunjin says breezily as he passes them by.

Jeongin chooses not to reply, and Seungmin is thankful for the small miracle. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle another squabble today.

“Minnie~ Where did you put the movie?”

Seungmin sighs. “I’m guessing it’s somewhere under those pizzas.”

He hears the boxes being moved around as he’s tearing up some paper towels to bring to the living room and turns to see Hyunjin and Chan fiddling with a cord and Hyunjin’s laptop, trying to connect the latter to the TV so they can watch their movie comfortably. Everyone else is sitting down on their spots and Seungmin moves to his designated seat on the far left side of the couch. He drops the paper towels in the middle of the table, within everyone’s reach, and Felix hands him a piece of pizza.

Once Hyunjin and Chan succeed on their task, Hyunjin shuts the lights off and sidles up to Seungmin, plopping down right next to him, while Chan chooses to sit on the floor.

The movie starts playing and Seungmin’s eyes gradually get adjusted to the darkness. It helps that the opening shots take place in a gloomy landscape.

“Ack- Shit!”, Minho exclaims out of nowhere, making Hyunjin jump out of his seat.

“What happened?”, Chan asks, worried.

“Idiot tried blowing at his tteokbokki and dropped it”, Jisung explains, half-laughing at his boyfriend’s predicament and half-trying to help him clean up as Minho grumbles from his side.

Soon after, the room settles into a peaceful quietness again, everyone returning their focus to the TV screen, and Seungmin finds that the movie is actually a lot more bearable than he expected. Granted, it hasn’t been five minutes since it began, but it’s not one of those thrillers that jump right into the gory stuff. He’s aware that those kinds of movies should unnerve him more but he’s kind of enjoying the pretty scenery, feeling the stress of the day’s classes leave his body as he sinks back into the fluffy pillows.

Of course, being themselves, the silence doesn’t last long. It’s a particularly long intro, by anyone’s standards; nothing exciting has yet to happen - just some horse-driven carriages traveling through a bunch of similarly gloomy locations.

“Who here thinks Hyunjin should confess to his crush?”, Jisung asks, his whisper sounding twice as loud in the otherwise quiet room.

“Oh my God! Will you stop with that already?” Hyunjin cries out and drops his head back on the pillows, exasperated.

Everyone’s eyes turn on the two roommates.

“I’m for”, Minho pipes up, raising a hand for emphasis.

“Depends, really”, Chan shrugs. “If you feel like it’s for the best, then go for it. Don’t overthink it.” He smiles reassuringly at Hyunjin, though it looks a bit creepy as it’s drowned by the shadows in the room. Hyunjin, for his part, stares back at Chan with a deadpan look.

“I’d make sure they like me back 100% first”, Felix chimes in.

“Solid advice”, Changbin grouches, earning a twinkly laugh from Felix, who tries to placate him by rubbing small circles over the older’s stomach.

“What about you, Seungmin?”, Jisung asks, and the question sounds pointed. Seungmin wants to be petty and ignore him, but everyone’s attention is on him. Hyunjin has turned his head over to him, as well, the lights from the ongoing movie flashing on his face and making him look otherworldly. All of a sudden, Hyunjin’s lips curl into a smile. It’s soft, not at all teasing, and it soothes Seungmin’s nerves. Even if Hyunjin has a crush on somebody else, it’s okay. Even if he gets into a relationship, it’s gonna be alright. Even if that means Seungmin has to deal with a broken heart, for however long, he’s gonna deal with it. He'd drag himself through hell and high water if it meant he'd get to keep Hyunjin by his side.

“What’d you think, Minnie? Should I do it?”, Hyunjin’s voice matches his smile. The words are soft-spoken and Hyunjin is close enough that they’re almost being whispered directly into Seungmin’s ear.

His breath doesn’t hitch once - Seungmin is proud of himself. His throat is feeling a little dry, though, so he swallows a couple times and gathers his thoughts before he attempts a reply. If Seungmin knows something it’s that Hyunjin deserves happiness and love and everything nice in between. He should be content with providing a fraction of that happiness already, by being Hyunjin’s friend. He _is_ happy. He will learn to be happy with other people providing Hyunjin with more than Seungmin does, too. Eventually.

“Sure”, he says in the end. “You should always go after what and who you want.”

“See? If Seungmin agrees with me, it can’t be that bad, right?”, Jisung says, smug.

Hyunjin hums agreeably from his side, leaving Seungmin confused. He knows he’s a bit more level-headed than the majority of his friends but since when is his opinion regarded so highly by them? Especially when it comes to matters of love and relationships.

“Maybe I should follow your advice”, Hyunjin murmurs, raising his legs to tuck them against his chest and resting his head on top of Seungmin’s shoulder. The position seems completely uncomfortable to Seungmin’s eyes, yet he allows himself to be a bit selfish and shifts slightly to accommodate Hyunjin’s body better. He brings an arm around Hyunjin’s shoulders and Hyunjin doesn’t waste a second before he’s snuggling his cheek against Seugnmin’s collarbone, his breath fanning over Seungmin’s neck with each exhale. The movie was well ignored by both of them after that. Seungmin could faintly pick up gasps and muffled shrieks coming from the others as Hyunjin’s steady breathing lulled him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi~ Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter heh ^^ I’ve already got two more chapters outlined so I just gotta type it out~ I hope that I’ll be updating soon enough!
> 
> The plot for this story went through a lot and along the way it gathered many bits and pieces from some of the other plotlines that I ended up scraping :’) The opening line is one of those, hence why it might have felt a bit out of place and a touch unaddressed. I’d planned to explain what their V-Day eve tradition is in more detail further down the chapter but it just didn’t stick :’) I was already attached to the intro line, though, so I ended up including it anyway lol. The idea of a prequel did cross my mind but I won’t be making any promises for the time being. 
> 
> Once again, I hope you liked the story so far~ Feedback is much appreciated but never required!! <33


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